The Labour Party has announced a review of the supply of homes to be headed by Peter Redfern, the chief executive of builder Taylor Wimpey.
Redfern said: “I have an ambition for a healthy and sustainable housing market that will give current and future generations the opportunity to own their own home.
“The continued structural decline in home ownership presents a long-term social and economic challenge and necessitates a considered review. This is not about party politics, it affects us all.”
The Redfern Review will initially focus on five key areas contributing to the housing crisis:
-The specific constraints on buying your first home
-The effectiveness of transitions in home tenure
-Homeownership later in life
-Housing supply
-Short, medium and long-term impact of the current policies
Redfern will lead the review panel alongside Terrie Alafat, the head of the Chartered Institute of Housing, Andy Gray, the former head of mortgage lending at Barclays, Ian Mulheirn, director of consulting at Oxford Economics, and Dame Kate Barker, a former member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee who produced her own review of the housing market a decade ago.
Shadow cabinet minister for housing and planning John Healey said: “Increasing home-ownership is Labour’s housing priority.
“A million more households became home-owners under Labour, but home-ownership is now in free-fall.
“Young people aspiring to own a home have been the hardest hit. What used to be a natural part of growing up is becoming a luxury for those on the highest salaries, or whose parents have the deepest pockets. It would be Labour’s first priority in government to change that.
“The Redfern Review will take a hard look at the causes of the recent decline in home-ownership, to help bring fresh ideas to the wider public debate on how we can get to grips with this problem.”
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Who is buying as banks are not lending! Banks are ageist! Any other companies would be sued! No mortgage if over 55 even though I am legally allowed to work until I am dead.
No mortgages for adverse even though I was made redundant and paid my mortgage, no help from government unless you are under 40! Yet the government want us to be in debt. Too may cash buyers from other countries buying in uk and pushing house prices up, so banks look at adverts credit and will not lend you more than £224k yet houses do not come that cheap unless you buy a dump. We earn £100k but only mortgage until state says. Disgusting government to allow the new mortgage rules. The banks were bailed out but fannie and Freddie are doomed forever. Banks blame adverse for last recession yet the banks were the ones who fell as wrongly invested! Do not vote Cameron